WGN Authority Report: November 15th

15 Nov , 2018

Although it was a relatively quiet week in esports compared to the bonanza that kicked off November there was still great action in both for both fans of fighting games and first person shooters. Injustice 2 and CS:GO. Both communities gathered in Chicago this weekend to determine the Injustice 2 Pro Series Grand Finals Champion and determine the victors of IEM Chicago. Let’s dive right in.

Injustice 2 Pro Series Grand Finals

The Pro Series Grand Finals brought the 16 best Injustice 2 players in the world to Chicago to battle it out for international supremacy and their share of the $100 000 prize pool. For the second straight year SonicFox has claimed the Injustice 2 Pro Series crown for himself, picking up the $40 000 grand prize in the process.

The event was filled with upsets. Tweedy, the top ranked player from the regular season, was taken down early by SonicFox before again falling to Scar to finish in 5th overall. Meanwhile Biohazard, the third ranked player entering the tournament, fell in both of his first match going home well before anybody expected.

This tournament was a perfect ending to what has been a long and successful season for SonicFox, winning multiple tournaments and finishing second overall in points throughout the regular season ladder. As the man who dominated last year’s Grand Finals he found himself facing the best version of his opponents all season long and still they proved to be no match.

In this year’s event he again dominated the competition winning all 5 of his matches to take the title home. His masterful command of Joker made for an epic Joker Vs. Batman Final that is a must watch for fans of the game. He also piloted Captain Cold and Black Manta successfully at points throughout the day. You can check out the full list of results for a detailed breakdown of the rest of the standings.

Picking up the DBFZ crown at EVO 2018 in August earlier this year officially makes him the man to beat in the fighting game community at this point. The future is bright for SonicFox and all eyes will be on him when Injustice 2 action returns next season.

CS:GO IEM Chicago

The final Intel Extreme Masters of Season XIII before the World Championships in Katowice brought 16 of the World’s best teams to the Wintrust Arena in Chicago to battle it out for their share of $250 000. Ultimately Astralis walked away with the $100 000 grand prize after 5 days of incredible CS:GO competition.

Astralis breezed through their first two matches, defeating MVP PK 16-8 before getting a clean 2-0 sweep over North. In the Group Finals however they encountered FaZe Clan and were handed their sole defeat of the week, losing badly on Mirage and then again in a heartbreaking 19-15 game on Inferno.

The loss was inconsequential to Astralis however as they had already secured their berth in the playoffs and this loss just prevented them from getting the first round bye. Their playoff ran began with a match against mousesports where they were again able to get a 2-0 sweep although the second game on Nuke came down to the wire with a 16-13 scoreline.

This set the stage for a semi final matchup that was easily one of the most exciting series of the tournament. The series began on Dust II and required the full 30 rounds with Astralis barely clinching it out 16-14. Fnatic refused to go down without a fight however, and returned the favor with a 16-12 victory of their own on Mirage. This set the stage for a do-or-die game on Inferno and fittingly the map required extra rounds to be determined. After an incredible back and forth Astralis was finally able to secure the final few rounds in succession in order to give them a 19-17 victory.

In the Grand Finals they encountered Team Liquid who had just absolutely dominated FaZe Clan in the final two games of the other semi final matchup. Although the series was scheduled for 5 games Astralis was able to ride the momentum of their incredibly emotional victories over Fnatic into a dominating finals performance. They got the victory in just three games and only dropped 25 rounds in the process.